Minimalist Edge AI Student Competition

Part of the 11th ACM/IEEE Symposium on Edge Computing (SEC 2026) Location: Santa Clara University | Date: Oct 13-15, 2026
Overview
The future of the Edge is not just decentralized—it must be sustainable. As AI models grow in complexity, the environmental and energetic costs of deploying them on edge devices have become a critical bottleneck.
The Minimalist Edge AI Challenge invites student teams to tackle the "AI Bloat" head-on. This one-day competition challenges you to take state-of-the-art "heavy" models and transform them into lean, green, high-performance machines capable of running on constrained, eco-friendly hardware. Can you maintain intelligence while slashing the carbon footprint? Join our Discord group for latest updates (https://discord.gg/V29ZXCTFR5).
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The Challenge
Participating teams will be tasked with deploying a complex AI workload (e.g., real-time multi-object tracking or environmental anomaly detection) onto provided low-power hardware (Qualcomm Arduino UNO Q).
Your mission is to optimize for the "Green Trifecta":
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Model Accuracy: Maintain high predictive performance and reliability while operating under strict resource constraints.
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Model Compression: Use pruning, quantization, and distillation to shrink the model footprint.
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Resource Efficiency: Minimize peak RAM and CPU utilization to ensure smooth execution on minimalist hardware.
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Energy Parsimony: Achieve the lowest possible Joules-per-inference to maximize battery life and sustainability.
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Why Participate?
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Showcase Your Skills: Pitch your solution to a jury of world-leading edge computing experts from academia and industry.
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Build Your Career & Network: Pitch your solution to a premier jury of world-leading edge computing experts and recruiters from academia and industry giants like Qualcomm.
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Engineer for Planet Earth: Move past theoretical AI. Help define the actual benchmarks for "Green AI" and create real-world impact by building hyper-efficient, eco-friendly edge computing models.
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Cash Prizes: The top three teams from each track will receive cash rewards:
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1st Place: $1,000
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2nd Place: $750
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3rd Place: $500
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Participant Perks: All competition participants will receive IEEE Computer Society swag and a free IEEE Computer Society Student Membership (Note: Requires an active IEEE Student Membership).
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Eligibility & Team Composition
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Open to all undergraduate and graduate students registered at a recognized university.
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Teams should consist of 2 to 4 members.
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Recommended Skill Set: * Proficiency in Python (PyTorch/TensorFlow) and/or C++/Rust.
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Experience with model optimization techniques (Pruning, Quantization).
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Knowledge of Linux systems and resource profiling.
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A passion for sustainable engineering.
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Important Dates
● Team Registration Deadline: Sept. 6th, 2026
● Competition Day: Oct. 13-16 (Co-located with SEC 2026)
Co-sponsored by: QualComm
500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, California, United States, 95053